Service

Public Lighting Tax

General Directorate of Taxation

Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Source/Copyright: General Department of Taxation (GDT) Cambodia

Public Lighting Tax

A. What is the Public Lighting Tax?

The Public Lighting Tax applies to the supply of alcohol, liquor, or tobacco products within the Kingdom of Cambodia. This tax is determined and must be paid at the time of the initial supply following production or import into the Kingdom of Cambodia.

B. Definition of Key Terms

  • Alcohol: Refers to all types of products containing alcohol, except for alcohol products used in the medical sector.
  • Liquor: Refers to intoxicating liquids made by soaking various ingredients, including beer or alcoholic beverages, except for sour palm juice and white wine produced without processing to preserve quality and/or packaging in a handicraft or industrial manner.
  • Tobacco: Refers to products wholly or partly composed of tobacco leaves or tobacco substances or other substances as raw materials manufactured for smoking, including all types of cigarettes, cigars, and electronic cigarettes.
  • Tax: Refers to the Public Lighting Tax.
  • Taxable Person: Refers to the producer or importer of taxable products who makes the supply within the Kingdom of Cambodia.
  • Producer: Refers to the owner of products who produces taxable products by themselves or who hires other persons to produce taxable products for them.
  • Importer: Refers to the owner of products who imports taxable products by themselves or who authorizes other persons to import taxable products for them.

C. Tax Rate, Tax Base, and Tax Calculation

  1. Tax Rate: The Public Lighting Tax is set at a rate of 5% (five percent) of the tax base.
  2. Tax Base: The tax base for the Public Lighting Tax is the supply price recorded on the invoice, including various taxes but excluding Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Public Lighting Tax itself.
  3. Tax Calculation: The calculation of the Public Lighting Tax is determined as follows:

    Public Lighting Tax = Tax Base x Tax Rate

  • Example 1: ABC Beer Factory, which is under the self-declaration regime, produced and supplied beer to its customers at a price of $11,000 (price excluding Value Added Tax and the Public Lighting Tax itself).
    • Calculation of Public Lighting Tax:
    • Tax Base for Public Lighting Tax = $11,000
    • Public Lighting Tax = $11,000 x 5% = $550
  • Example 2: XYZ Cigarette Factory, which is under the self-declaration regime, produced and supplied cigarettes to its customers at a price of $10,000 (price excluding Value Added Tax and the Public Lighting Tax itself).
    • Calculation of Public Lighting Tax:
    • Tax Base for Public Lighting Tax = $10,000
    • Public Lighting Tax = $10,000 x 5% = $500

D. Obligations and Procedures for Tax Declaration and Payment

Taxable persons have the obligation to submit tax declarations and pay the Public Lighting Tax on a monthly basis, at the latest by the 20th of the following month for physical (manual) tax declaration submissions, or at the latest by the 25th of the following month for online tax declaration submissions (GDT Tax Prefiling App for small taxpayers, and e-Filing for medium and large taxpayers).

Regarding tax payment, taxpayers can make payments at branches of partner commercial banks of the General Directorate of Taxation or through the online tax payment system (e-Payment) for medium and large taxpayers, or the GDT Tax Prefiling App for small taxpayers.